The Biggest Movies Coming in 2024

Estimated reading time: 25 minutes

As the new year kicks off – we’re five years past the original Blade Runner’s time period at this point! – Hollywood can settle in (at least in terms of its release date plans). 2023’s double strike, which saw both the actors and writers guilds campaigning for improved deals, scrambled production schedules, leading to a variety of movies (and TV shows) being delayed and/or seeing their planned release timing changed.

So that means that in 2024 we’re only getting one new MCU movie – Deadpool 3 – though really, Marvel Studios probably needed a bit of a breather anyway. DC also will only see one new movie released in Joker: Folie à Deux, but that’s more to do with the switch to the new James Gunn Universe than because of the strikes. Elsewhere, there’s a host of new titles to be excited about, including the long-awaited arrival of Dune: Part Two, Parasite director Bong Joon-ho’s Mickey 17, Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire, a mysteriously untitled Universal Monsters movie from the guys who made Ready or Not, a new Planet of the Apes movie, the return of Furiosa (w/o Mad Max!), a new Jordan Peele movie, and much more.

Read on for the 2024 movies we’re most excited about, and don’t forget all release dates are subject to change…

Night Swim

US Date: Jan. 5

When I was a little kid, I was afraid to go in the pool after an ill-advised attempted viewing of Jaws. That fear lasted for a looong time (years?), so one can only imagine how folks are gonna do with the latest team-up between mega-horror-producers James Wan and Jason Blum. Night Swim stars Wyatt Russell and Kerry Condon in a tale involving a… haunted swimming pool. Sure, laugh now – and then enjoy spending the whole summer sweating in the heat at a safe distance from any refreshing, man-made watering hole.

Mean Girls

US Date: Jan. 12

Don’t worry – it’s a musical! The trailer for the 2024 version of Mean Girls that dropped in November weirdly neglected to indicate that small fact, making it seem like an odd rehash. But indeed this film is based on the Broadway musical incarnation of the 2004 Lindsay Lohan classic. Angourie Rice (who you may recognize from the Tom Holland Spider-Man movies among other things) fills Lohan’s shoes, with Tina Fey back again as screenwriter (and as Ms. Norbury).

The Beekeeper

US Date: Jan. 12

You know how your grandparents fell for that phishing scam that one time? Well, Jason Statham just hates that, and he’s ready to kill a lot of bad people because of it in The Beekeeper. Suicide Squad and Fury director David Ayer teams with the British badass to get revenge for the mom from The Cosby Show (Phylicia Rashad), even if that means cutting a guy’s fingers off and then tying him to the back of a truck that then drives off a bridge. That’s what you get for running a call center, dude!

Soul, Turning Red, Luca

US Dates: Jan. 12, Feb. 9, March 22

These three Disney Pixar movies never got full theatrical releases in the US due to the COVID-19 pandemic, instead going straight to Disney+. But now they’ll finally make it to the big screen in the first quarter of 2024, and each will be accompanied by a short film as well (“Burrow” for Soul, “Kitbull” for Turning Red, and “For the Birds” for Luca).

Argylle

US Date: Feb. 2 in theaters, Apple TV+ date TBA

How perfect is casting Henry Cavill as “Agent Argylle,” a super-spy who is actually just the cartoonish creation of novelist Elly Conway (Bryce Dallas Howard)? Matthew Vaughn certainly knows a thing or two about spy movies, and how to play with the conventions of the genre, having directed a Kingsman or three, and Argylle looks to follow suit as Conway encounters “real” spies like Sam Rockwell’s shaggy assassin. Bryan Cranston, Catherine O’Hara, John Cena, Samuel L. Jackson, Dua Lipa, and Ariana DeBose also star.

Lisa Frankenstein

US Date: Feb. 9

Diablo Cody scripted this horror comedy about a teenager (Kathryn Newton) who, you guessed it, reanimates the dead – specifically the corpse of her dreams (via a tanning machine). Directed by Zelda Williams (the late Robin Williams’ daughter), Lisa Frankenstein looks to be one part Jennifer’s Body, one part Heathers, and potentially all parts fun.

Madame Web

US Date: Feb. 14

2024 is going to be a light year for the Marvel Cinematic Universe, with only one film being released by the studio. But don’t worry, because Sony’s Spider-Man Universe, as the studio calls it, is ready to step in with three different Marvel-adjacent movies. The first of the year will be Madame Web, which stars Dakota Johnson as the psychic Cassandra Webb, Sydney Sweeney as Julia Carpenter, Celeste O’Connor as Mattie Franklin, and Isabela Merced as Anya Corazon, all of whom have assumed one Spider-persona or another in the comics. Will Madame Web break the Morbius curse and be, you know, good? Only the spider knows for now…

Drive-Away Dolls

US Date: Feb. 23

The Coen brothers are kinda making their own movies separate from one another lately, and that’s OK! For his part, Ethan has this comedy up next, starring Margaret Qualley and Geraldine Viswanathan as a pair of young women who hit the road in search of one of those good old “fresh starts.” Soon enough, they’re mixed up with a variety of weird and criminal types, not to mention co-stars Beanie Feldstein, Colman Domingo, Pedro Pascal, Bill Camp and Matt Damon.

Dune: Part Two

US Date: March 1

The first installment of Denis Villeneuve’s Dune was a hit, and though Part Two was delayed because of the Hollywood strikes, it is now scheduled for a March release. Timothée Chalamet and Zendaya are back along with most of the first film’s cast, while newcomers Austin Butler, Florence Pugh, Christopher Walken and Léa Seydoux are all landing on planet Arrakis for the first time. We’re particularly looking forward to Butler (Elvis) as Feyd-Rautha Harkonnen, the role played by Sting in the 1984 film.

Imaginary

US Date: March 8

Imaginary friends come in all shapes and sizes, and that includes sometimes just being total assholes. Case in point: Chauncey, the teddy bear in Blumhouse’s Imaginary who, judging by the film’s trailer, has it out for the little girl who finds him in the basement of her new home. Never mind that he’s not really imaginary since he’s a corporeal, well, teddy bear and all. Suffice to say that, imaginary or not, he wants to hurt folks. DeWanda Wise and Tom Payne star in the Jeff Wadlow (Kick-Ass 2, Fantasy Island) film.

Kung Fu Panda 4

US Date: March 8

DreamWorks Animation’s fourth installment in the Kung Fu Panda series of animated films will be directed by Mike Mitchell (The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part, Trolls) and Stephanie Ma Stine (She-Ra and the Princesses of Power) will serve as co-director. Jack Black returns for the film, which will be released eight years after Part 3, as his character Po faces off against a new villain named the Chameleon (Viola Davis). Ke Huy Quan (Everything Everywhere All at Once) also joins the voice cast as Han, the leader of the Den of Thieves.

Mickey 17

US Date: March 29

Oscar-winning South Korean filmmaker Bong Joon-ho (Parasite) is going sci-fi for his next film, and he’s taking Robert Pattinson with him for an adaptation of the 2022 novel Mickey7 by Edward Ashton. Steven Yeun, Naomi Ackie, Toni Collette and Mark Ruffalo also star in the tale of an “Expendable,” a space traveler sent on a one-way mission to colonize an ice world called Niflheim (cute). As prep for this film, we recommend you watch Pattinson’s previous movie about a one-way trip to space, High Life.

Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire

US Date: March 29

I refuse to make a “who you gonna call” joke here, though I suppose I just did despite my best intentions. Anyway, the franchise of ghostbusting continues with a direct sequel to 2021’s Ghostbusters: Afterlife, whether or not that film’s bustin’ made you feel good, as Paul Rudd, Carrie Coon, Finn Wolfhard, and Mckenna Grace return to action after New York City is frozen by a force from beyond. And yes, Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Ernie Hudson, Annie Potts, and even William Atherton all return from the 1984 film, though for how many minutes of actual running time remains to be seen.

Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire

US Date: April 12

There’ve been a lot of would-be shared universes that have come and gone in the wake of the MCU, but somehow it’s Legendary Pictures’ MonsterVerse that has persevered among them all, racking up at this point five movies and a TV show. (Perhaps that’s the key? Don’t glut the market with product.) In the confusingly titled Godzilla x Kong, the two monster-bros must team up to face a new giant threat, while the humans of the cast (Rebecca Hall, Brian Tyree Henry, Dan Stevens) work to not annoy us while we wait for the monster fights to happen.

Rebel Moon – Part Two: The Scargiver

US Date: April 19, Netflix

What’s a Scargiver? Who knows, but I guess we’ll have a better idea when the first part of Zack Snyder’s latest would-be franchise launches on Netflix on Dec. 21. Rebel Moon came from a Star Wars pitch that Snyder had originally taken to Lucasfilm, and he has big cross-media plans for the concept. That of course includes sequels, so Part Two is already slotted for an April 2024 release. Sofia Boutella, Charlie Hunnam, Michiel Huisman, Djimon Hounsou, and Anthony Hopkins star in the story of a ruthless empire that must be defeated by a mysterious outsider.

Untitled Universal Monsters Film From Radio Silence

US Date: April 19

Universal has been trying to get a new take on their Classic Monsters going for a while – remember the Dark Universe franchise that lasted for one movie? This mysterious project comes from the Radio Silence Productions team of Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett (Ready or Not, the recent Scream films) and is reportedly a riff on 1936’s Dracula’s Daughter, featuring “a group of kidnappers who abduct a band of young people, one of whom ends up being the titular character.” Melissa Barrera, Alisha Weir, Dan Stevens and Giancarlo Esposito star.

Challengers

US Date: April 26

Judging by the Challengers trailer, director Luca Guadagnino weaves a lighter tale than his 2022 film Bones and All. But looks – and trailers – can be deceiving. Challengers is the story of a married couple of tennis pros (Zendaya and Mike Faist). When the struggling husband must compete in a low-end “Challenger” event, he finds himself playing against his ex-best friend – who also happens to be his wife’s ex-boyfriend (Josh O’Connor).

The Fall Guy

US Date: May 3

Former stuntman David Leitch (John Wick, Deadpool 2) joins with former Mouseketeer Ryan Gosling to make a movie about a stuntman which also happens to be based on the 1980s Lee Majors TV show of the same name. Judging by the trailer, The Fall Guy looks to be shooting for that fun mix of action, comedy and romance as Gosling’s character is called off-set to investigate a real-life mystery, all in service of saving his would-be girlfriend (and film director) Emily Blunt’s latest movie.

Horrorscope

US Date: May 10

Not much is known about this Screen Gems horror flick other than its cast: Jacob Batalon, Alana Boden, Adain Bradley and Avantika. Spenser Cohen (Moonfall) directs what, judging by the title, will be a movie involving horoscopes and horror. Crazy nobody hasn’t used that title already, actually.

IF

US Date: May 17

John Krasinski’s directorial follow-up to A Quiet Place and A Quiet Place Part II is IF, which stars Ryan Reynolds, Fiona Shaw, Cailey Fleming, Louis Gossett Jr., and Alan Kim, plus a host of other actors who will be providing their voices (Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Steve Carell, Matt Damon, Emily Blunt and more). The film’s title stands for Imaginary Friend, but these aren’t just teddy bears (see Imaginary, opening in March) but rather imaginary friends who have been abandoned once the children who dreamt them up grew to adulthood and moved on. The film will be a mix of live-action, CGI and melted marshmallow monstrosity.

Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes

US Date: May 24

The last time we met up with those damned, dirty apes was in 2017’s War for the Planet of the Apes, which effectively ended the story of Andy Serkis’ Caesar. But now director Wes Ball (The Maze Runner trilogy) will continue the story of the apes generations after Caesar. The trailer for the film looks great, but will Kingdom achieve the heights of the Serkis movies? One can only hope. Owen Teague, Freya Allan, Kevin Durand and William H. Macy star.

Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga

US Date: May 24

Charlize Theron’s powerhouse character from Fury Road gets a prequel in George Miller’s Furiosa, with Anya Taylor-Joy taking over the role as the young woman who is torn from her tribe and forced into servitude by Immortan Joe and his awfuls. Chris Hemsworth also appears, only ugly, as a warlord of the road called Dementus. The first trailer for the film makes it look perhaps too much like Fury Road, but if anyone has earned our goodwill it’s Miller, so let’s see where this all goes.

The Garfield Movie

US Date: May 24

Might as well make a new Garfield theatrical movie, this time a fully animated one. In which case, might as well have Chris Pratt voice the famously lazy cat from Jim Davis’ comic strip. That’s who we have handed vocal duties for all our beloved characters now, right? What We Do in the Shadows’ Harvey Guillén voices Odie the dog, Samuel L. Jackson takes on Vic, Garfield’s long-lost cat dad, and Hannah Waddingham, Ving Rhames, Nicholas Hoult, Cecily Strong, Harvey Guillén, Brett Goldstein and Bowen Yang also are part of the cast.

Ballerina

US Date: June 7

John Wick’s current status may be, shall we say, unclear, but his world of assassins continues with Ballerina, which is a spin-off/sidequel that takes place between John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum and John Wick: Chapter 4. Ana de Armas stars as Rooney (played by Unity Phelan in Chapter 3), the ballerina of the title who is seeking Wickian-style revenge for the murder of her family. Underworld director Len Wiseman takes the helm for Ballerina.

Inside Out 2

US Date: June 14

Amy Poehler returns as Joy for Inside Out 2, but Riley, the girl Joy and her fellow emotions live inside, is now a teenager… which means Joy, Sadness, Anger, Fear and Disgust have to make room for Anxiety (Maya Hawke) and maybe/almost certainly a host of new, disruptive emotions. Kelsey Mann takes over the director’s chair for this sequel from Inside Out’s (and Pixar mainstay) Pete Docter.

Bad Boys 4

US Date: June 14

The third film in the Bad Boys series, Bad Boys for Life, was released in 2020, so Bad Boys 4 – which is not the final title of the film – is coming fairly quickly considering the 17-year gap between Bad Boy 2 and Bad Boys 3, and the eight-year gap between the first film and the second. Will Smith and Martin Lawrence are of course back again, with Bad Boys for Life and Ms. Marvel directors Adil & Bilall also returning for more fun.

A Quiet Place: Day One

US Date: June 28

Director Michael Sarnoski left an impression with 2021’s Nic Cage drama Pig, and he’s certainly an interesting choice for this prequel/spin-off to the John Krasinski/Emily Blunt horror series. Lupita Nyong’o, Joseph Quinn (Stranger Things’ Eddie Munson!), Alex Wolff and Djimon Hounsou star in the film, which will presumably fill in some of the blanks regarding the nasty aliens from the first two installments (though Part II did already give us a flashback to the start of their invasion).

Horizon: An American Saga

US Dates: Chapter 1: June 28, Chapter 2: Aug. 16

Kevin Costner loves himself some epic Westerns (He did win Best Picture, Director and Actor Oscars for Dances With Wolves after all!) and so he’s back with “a two-part theatrical event” that he directed, stars in, produced, and reportedly also financed himself. Truly, the American way! Set both before and after the Civil War, the film is about the expansion of the American West, with Sienna Miller, Sam Worthington, Jena Malone, Michael Rooker, Danny Huston, Luke Wilson and many more familiar faces filling out the cast.

Despicable Me 4

US Date: July 3

It was February of 2022 when Illumination and Universal announced Despicable Me 4’s release date of July 3, 2024, and while not much has been heard about the film since – we don’t even have a trailer – the sixth film in the series (don’t forget the two Minions movies) seems like an inevitability. Reportedly, Steve Carell will be back as former supervillain Gru, joined by Kristen Wiig, Pierre Coffin, Miranda Cosgrove and Steve Coogan.

Twisters

US Date: July 19

You wanna see cows getting sucked up by tornadoes on the big screen, right? Of course you do! (And we also all hope that the cows will be just fine afterward.) And hence, Twisters was born – the 28-years-later sequel to the memorable Bill Paxton/Helen Hunt disaster flick Twister. Normal People’s Daisy Edgar-Jones will star in the film, with Lee Isaac Chung, who was Oscar-nominated for 2020’s Minari, directing. Getting an Oscar nom is one thing, but successfully getting a cow to spin in a tornado while your leads make wisecracks? That will take true talent.

Deadpool 3

US Date: July 26

Yep, Marvel Studios has just one movie coming out in 2024, and it’s the third entry in a series that didn’t even used to be part of the MCU! That said, Deadpool doesn’t really play by regular universe rules anyway. And if the leaks from this film’s set are to be believed, that will continue to be the case as all manner of non-MCU Marvel characters could show up here. That includes Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine, who teams with Ryan Reynolds’ Wade Wilson again after their unfortunate meeting in X-Men Origins: Wolverine.

Borderlands

US Date: Aug. 9

Director Eli Roth (Hostel, Thanksgiving) brings the space Western game to the big screen with Cate Blanchett starring as Lilith alongside Kevin Hart as Roland, Jamie Lee Curtis as Dr. Tannis, and Jack Black voicing the robot Claptrap. “I didn’t want to have to be too slavish [to the game],” Roth told IGN in November. “I didn’t just want to film the game. We wanted to tell a great story on its own, but of course it’s loaded with Easter eggs for the fans.”

Alien: Romulus

US Date: Aug. 16

How many Alien movies does this make now? Not counting the Alien vs. Predator films (why would you?), Alien: Romulus is the seventh installment. (There’s also a TV series currently in the works.) Directed by Fede Álvarez (Evil Dead, Don’t Breathe), Romulus is set between the first movie and the second, which actually gives the filmmaker a wide time period to play with (since – pushes up glasses – Ripley was in cryogenic sleep for 57 years when Aliens opens). Not much else is known about the film at this point, but Cailee Spaeny (Priscilla) will star.

Kraven the Hunter

US Date: Aug. 30

The second film from Sony’s Spider-Man Universe to be released in 2024, Kraven the Hunter has been a long time coming, having previously been scheduled for January 2023, and then October. But the latest attempt at turning a Spider-Man villain into an anti-hero is finally arriving this summer, with Aaron Taylor-Johnson playing the title role, a master hunter who also has superpowers. Will the film connect to Spider-Man in any meaningful way? Probably not, judging by how Morbius and the Venom films have gone, but we’ll have to wait and see.

Beetlejuice 2

US Date: Sept. 6

Michael Keaton already came back as Batman, so why not as Betelgeuse? That he’s teaming with original Beetlejuice (and Batman!) director Tim Burton only makes this sequel sound more intriguing. Wednesday creators Alfred Gough and Miles Millar wrote the script, and the star of that show, Jenna Ortega, will also appear in the film alongside original cast members Winona Ryder and Catherine O’Hara. Willem Dafoe, Monica Bellucci and Justin Theroux will also be hanging with the ghost with the most for Beetlejuice 2, which comes 36 years after the first film.

Transformers One

US Date: Sept. 13

The animated Transformers One is an origin story for everyone’s favorite robots in disguise that is being directed by Josh Cooley (Toy Story 4). Chris Hemsworth voices a young Optimus Prime opposite a presumably also young Megatron (Brian Tyree Henry) in a story that depicts how the two went from allies to legendary foes destined for toy shelves everywhere. Also starring are Scarlett Johansson (Elita), Keegan-Michael Key (Bumblebee), Jon Hamm (Sentinel Prime) and Laurence Fishburne (Alpha Trion).

Saw XI

US Date: Sept. 27

The first Saw movie debuted in 2004 and was such a hit that a sequel came every year after through 2010. There was a seven-year break after that (Jigsaw fatigue, don’t you know), but there have been three films since then, including Saw X from September 2023. That movie made about $107 million, and so we’re back on the yearly schedule (for now anyway) with Saw XI coming in September 2024. Will the long-dead Jigsaw return again? Probably!

Joker: Folie à Deux

US Date: Oct. 4

Hey, like Marvel Studios, DC also only has one movie coming out this year! (Unlike Marvel Studios, however, this one isn’t a part of their shared universe.) Joaquin Phoenix returns as the Joker along with the previous film’s director Todd Phillips, and this time they have a not-so-secret weapon joining them in Lady Gaga, who will be playing Harley Quinn in the sequel. The original Joker came out in 2019 and was supposed to be a one-off, but it’s funny how that can change after you bring in a billion dollars worldwide and win a couple of Oscars (including Best Actor for Phoenix).

Smile 2

US Date: Oct. 18

2022’s Smile was an unlikely horror hit, moving from a planned streaming debut on Paramount+ to a bona fide $200 million-plus theatrical release. So you can bet your pearly whites that a sequel is coming, and that it’ll be perfectly timed to a Halloween release as well. Parker Finn, who made his feature debut with the first film, returns to direct Smile 2, though few other details are known about the project at this time.

Wolf Man

US Date: Oct. 25

Leigh Whannell nailed his Universal Monster redo The Invisible Man in 2020, and now he’s got a Wolf Man take in the works with Blumhouse producing. Christopher Abbott (Poor Things) stars, replacing Ryan Gosling in what will presumably be the hairy title role.

Venom 3

US Date: Nov. 8

Here’s the third and final film of the year in the awkwardly named Sony’s Spider-Man Universe line-up, and it’s also the one that has the best chance at success. Tom Hardy’s first two Venom movies were over the top but fun, and there’s no denying the appeal of this character to fans. Hardy’s back of course as the dual-personality man-monster, joined this time out by Juno Temple and Chiwetel Ejiofor, though it remains to be seen what roles they’ll play. You can bet at least one of them will be bonded with a symbiote though.

The Amateur

US Date: Nov. 8

Rami Malek stars in this thriller from director James Hawes, which is based on the novel of the same name by Robert Littell. The book was previously made into a 1981 film that starred John Savage and Christopher Plummer. The Amateur’s plot deals with a CIA cryptographer whose wife is killed in a terrorist attack, and the lengths he goes to for revenge, including blackmailing his employer.

Paddington in Peru

US Date: Nov. 8

Man, you people really love Paddington. Surprisingly, though, it’s been seven years since Paddington 2. The previous film’s director, Paul King, was busy making Wonka with Timothée Chalamet, so new helmer Dougal Wilson steps in for his feature debut. In this installment, Paddington and the Brown family do indeed visit Peru, though Emily Mortimer takes over as Mrs. Brown, replacing Sally Hawkins. Ben Whishaw is back as the voice of Paddington, as is Hugh Bonneville as Henry Brown. Other cast members include Julie Walters, Jim Broadbent, Madeleine Harris, Samuel Joslin, Olivia Colman and Antonio Banderas.

Gladiator 2

US Date: Nov. 22

It’s hard to believe this movie is actually happening. Sure, we’ve heard talk about it for years, but the first Gladiator was such a big deal back in 2000 – it even became a running gag on The Sopranos at one point – and the Ridley Scott film ended so definitively, and beautifully, that a sequel always seemed like it ran the risk of becoming too much of a good thing. It still does, as a matter of fact, but Scott is back to direct all the same from a script by David Scarpa, who also wrote Napoleon and All the Money in the World for the helmer. The story focuses on Lucius (Paul Mescal), Connie Nielsen’s son from the first film who is now an adult and, presumably, ready to do some gladiator-ing. Nielsen is back for the sequel and Denzel Washington also stars.

Wicked: Part One

US Date: Nov. 27

With a puff of red smoke, the musical Wicked is teleporting to the big screen in this adaptation from director Jon M. Chu (In the Heights). A retelling of how Elphaba Thropp (Cynthia Erivo) became the Wicked Witch of the West of Wizard of Oz infamy unfolds here, with Ariana Grande playing Galinda Upland (destined to be the Good Witch). Part Two is currently scheduled for a November 26, 2025, release.

Untitled Karate Kid Movie

US Date: Dec. 13

For this film, Ralph Macchio, the OG KK, is teaming with Jackie Chan, who starred in the 2010 “reimagining” of The Karate Kid – which I guess is now just part of the bigger Karate Kid Cinematic Universe. The pair will play their characters from their respective films, but conspicuous by its absence in the announcement of this movie was any mention of the gang from the Cobra Kai TV show – especially William Zabka’s Johnny Lawrence. Sony says a “global search” is underway to find the new Karate Kid who will presumably be trained by Chan and Macchio here. Just give us a high-school-karate-rumble or we riot… with a high-school-karate-rumble, I guess.

The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim

US Date: Dec. 13

Kenji Kamiyama (Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex, Blade Runner: Black Lotus) directs this animated feature, which reportedly takes place about 200 years before The Hobbit. Brian Cox will voice Helm Hammerhand, the King of Rohan, the namesake of what we all recognize as… Helm’s Deep! (Hey, I have that LEGO set.) Confusingly, this film has nothing to do with The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power TV show (that takes place in Middle-earth’s second age) other than being based on a small sliver of J.R.R. Tolkien’s work.

Mufasa: The Lion King

US Date: Dec. 20

This prequel to Disney’s “live-action” The Lion King comes from Oscar-winning director Barry Jenkins (Moonlight, The Underground Railroad), and tells of the earlier lives of Mufasa and Scar (Aaron Pierre and Kelvin Harrison Jr.), those lion brothers who are destined for tragedy and betrayal. This is what Jenkins told IGN about the film in 2022: “I think for kids it’s really important to understand that people aren’t born perfect, they aren’t just kings, their experiences shape them. So you can expect to go on this journey and understand how [Mufasa’s] friends, his family, his experiences shaped him and made him the person he is.”

Sonic the Hedgehog 3

US Date: Dec. 20

The Sonic the Hedgehog world dominance continues with the third installment in the Ben Schwartz-starring live-action (with some animation, of course) series. Presumably Colleen O’Shaunnessey and Idris Elba will also be back to voice the Blue Blur’s pals Tails and Knuckles, and Shadow the Hedgehog will also make his debut in the movie. Sonic 3 is directed by Jeff Fowler, making this a Hedgehog hat trick for him.

Nosferatu

US Date: Dec. 25

Robert Eggers, the beautiful madman behind The Witch, The Lighthouse, and most recently The Northman, is turning his attention to the horror of Nosferatu some 102 years after the original F.W. Murnau film was released. Who else but Bill Skarsgård has been cast as Count Orlok, while Nicholas Hoult, Lily-Rose Depp and Aaron Taylor-Johnson are among the humans forced to deal with the vampire. Funnily enough, Willem Dafoe also appears in the film, having already played a vampiric version of actor Max Schreck (who starred as Orlok in 1922) in the fictionalized making-of Nosferatu film, Shadow of the Vampire.

Untitled Jordan Peele Film

US Date: Dec. 25

We don’t know anything about it yet, other than that we want to see it, but Jordan Peele’s fourth film as a feature director will be released on Christmas in 2024. It’ll probably be scary!

What films are you most looking forward to in 2024? Let’s discuss in the comments!